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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jun 17, 2015 10:47:33 GMT -6
Yumiko chuckled quietly at Kita’s teasing of her loved one and plucked a strawberry from the bowl, taking a bite of the sweet fruit, washing away a growing hint of bitterness in her mind. She swallowed. “Vale watched me practice Kido but we stayed away from the blade… I wonder if that was his way to stay away from the darkness inside himself.” The darkness in the journal I found. She looked back up again. “I think training sounds like a good start to moving on. In Las Noches, it always distracted me from the cage and gave me strength. Even if it was to shape me into a weapon, it answered something - the pain inside me. Perhaps, this time too, it will distract me from the questions and feelings tearing at my heart.” Her eyes turned to the wildflowers in the vase. And then she walked over to the living room, pulling out the journal from the rags that had accumulated there. Her hands clenched around it, eyes narrowing. “Let’s finish cleaning up this kitchen and eat. Then, I have something to give to Kisuke.” After that, I am leaving this house. The memories and the desire to bring him back.I can't retreat anymore. Not with Aizen and the Ayakashi and Alister still around.
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 10, 2015 18:14:40 GMT -6
"Home":Vale sat on the floor, his back to the wall and his face covered by his hood. His fist rested to the floor, clenched and hiding an item. He watched as Yumiko slept on the bed they once shared. "Into the gate, Tervaden. Go home."Home. This was home. This was their home. The newly painted white walls. The empty shelves and cabinets. It was theirs. Home. Lifting his head to the sound of Yumiko turning in her sleep, Vale sighed. He rose from his place against the wall and walked over to the bed. "Please, trust me." he whispered, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. He moved quickly, leaving the apartment. Moved
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 13, 2015 15:53:48 GMT -6
"Opening all the Darkness":A door opening woke Yumiko and her eyes flickered open. Blinking, she sat up, watching the streams of dust collide with the light pouring in through the curtains. Like shimmering gold. A faint smile tugged on her lips. It reminded her of waking early - not for her lesson - but to gaze at the gleaming dew that glowed from each flower and leaf in the dawn light. The smile fell as she looked to her hands, recalling more memories unlocked. The echo of voices pulling her hands off a silent sword at her side. She didn’t know what they were saying because of her own screaming. The acidic tang in her mouth from biting her lip and tongue, fighting them every step of the way. Until the needle plunged into her back. Falling to the oblivion she had surrendered for her family… How had they not scarred from those weeks?
She closed her eyes again. The weeks of terror halted at a chiming presence she had nearly forgotten. Gentle hands helping her sit up and asking if she could hear Mizue no Kagami. Ukitake. A wrinkled hand setting on her brow before telling someone to get Unohana. Yamamoto. I had forgotten that I’d fallen dangerously ill…. A joyous voice pushing a new book in her hand and nearly tearing the first page from shaking too much at being able to study with the raised drawings. Kyoraku. A tear slipped down her cheek. ‘I miss home. When can I go back?’
‘Soon. After you get better, you’ll get stronger and can wield your power. It’s a great responsibility, but you can do it. It’s in your blood.’
After hearing that response too many times, I stopped asking. I heard more about home if I didn’t ask. If I listened. Then.... they betrayed me.
Yumiko opened her eyes again, looking to her hand folded in her lap. She’d forgotten so much…. but at the same time, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. The darkness far outweighed the light. The times of loneliness, they swallowed each caress of the wind and brush of the sun - even stole away the warmth from the messages tied in with the flowers. Then... she'd been spirited away to Las Noches.... Aizen coming for her and breaking the sealing, revealing so many wonders of the world she had mostly cut herself from... beauty.... and dreams.... and then darkness had claimed her yet again. Darkness and blood. Something scraped the window and she lifted her head higher. To a rose waving at the window. It broke through the melancholy and anxiety settling in her stomach. This was their apartment. Not Las Noches. Karakura Town. Her new haven. But also where she'd lost him. Vale……..
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 13, 2015 16:41:15 GMT -6
Vale tapped the door open with his foot. He carried a tray of treats and tea to the bed where Yumiko lay. Setting it to the table beside her, Vale smiled and took a step back. "How are you?" he asked, placing his hands in his pockets. His eyes rested on her for a moment, before moving to the floor.
"Um...Kisuke asked me to give you the ring that's on the tray. It's in the box." Pulling his hand from his pocket, he took a small step forward and extended his hand. "You can have it back, if you still want it..." He opened his hand revealing the ring he had given her.
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 13, 2015 16:48:36 GMT -6
Yumiko reached for the ring, hesitated a moment, and then took it. Holding it in the palm of her hand, she watched the gems glisten. Silently, she slipped the chain back around her neck. Ignoring the treats, her eyes remained on the precious ring as she asked one question. “What’s the other ring for?”
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 13, 2015 16:55:14 GMT -6
Vale sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "To protect you from Alister." He reached over and removed the chain from around Yumiko's neck. "I'll keep it, if you're not going to wear it, Yumiko." Vale rose from the bed, but before he could move further, he felt the chain get pulled back. Yumiko wouldn't let the ring go. He released it and she continued to stare at it. He took the box off of the tray and tossed it on the bed.
Walking toward the door, Vale looked over his shoulder. "I'll be in the garden."
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 14, 2015 10:26:48 GMT -6
Yumiko nodded, still not speaking, but when the door creaked open, she reacted instinctively. In a flash of shunpo, she latched onto his arm and pulled Vale away from the door. “Don’t leave,” she stated. “You can’t….” Not again. Unable to finish the statement in the face of her heart quaking and the nausea coiling around her, she simply tightened her hold on him.
She just couldn't lose anything else or face being alone right now.
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 14, 2015 10:38:05 GMT -6
"I'm not going to leave you, Yumiko." stated Vale, pulling away from Yumiko only to have her hold tighten. He looked down at her then to the ring still in her hand. "What's wrong?" Vale turned, placing a hand to her shoulder. "Yumiko? Are you ok?"
"Just stay here," she whispered. "Please." She didn't want to explain what was going on. She just wanted the balm of his presence and warmth. She rested her head to his shoulder, a tear slipping free.
"Okay." Vale wiped away the falling tear before wrapping his arms around her. "Please tell me what's wrong. Is it me? Is it because I'm back?" He sighed, still holding onto her. "I thought you would be happy..."
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 14, 2015 10:58:17 GMT -6
Yumiko shook her head. “It’s not you. I am glad you’re alive and back here. It’s not that. It’s….” she closed her eyes before opening them and shaking her head, not wanting to feel the weight of darkness.
She turned her head to the window rose, sighed, and finally explained, just enough. “Alister … brought out all the pain I have ever felt…. from the sealing… and what was fractured in Las Noches.”
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 14, 2015 11:44:22 GMT -6
Vale's eyes narrowed as he pulled from their embrace. He looked her in her eyes. "When? Did he come to you while I was gone? Yumiko?" He watched as Yumiko shook her head. "When we were in the Soul Society? Before we left?"
Shoving a hand in his pocket, Vale pulled out the aeronite and threw it into the next room. "What did you do to her?" he shouted, looking around the room. "Come out!" Vale shouted and cursed, but Alister never showed himself. "What did you do?!"
"It was necessary, Tervaden. I told you to go home."
"This was necessary?!" shouted Vale. The god didn't answer the question. Only his laugh echoed throughout the room, until it faded. Vale looked to Yumiko and sighed. "I'm sorry."
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 14, 2015 12:03:09 GMT -6
Yumiko’s lips lifted into a lukewarm smile, some of her trembling calming with his soft words. Glancing back towards the rose again, she walked back into his arms and curled against him. “It’s not your fault that your God is a bastard,” she murmured.
"He's not my god." whispered Vale, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry I left you...I thought I was helping. I didn't want you in harm's way. That was the only thing I could think of doing. I never meant to hurt you."
Yumiko chuckled quietly, head still cushioned against his chest. "Next time, if you fear I will be hurt more by Central or the law, don't be. Even without my memories, they'd done enough. Acting as witness against you... would be another drop in the darkness. I would have survived... as long as I didn't lose you."
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 14, 2015 12:37:16 GMT -6
"They were ready to drop me in a pit, Yumiko!" grunted Vale. "For keeping secrets. The same secrets Kisuke kept. The very same thing that tried to killed me." Vale pulled away from Yumiko and backed into a wall.
"If I thought it put you...Any of you in danger, I would have said something. You know that."
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 14, 2015 13:15:06 GMT -6
Yumiko folded her hands before her as Vale pulled away. "I know that. I never suspected you were a part of that fiend's attack."
"That doesn't change their opinion!" Vale cried out.
Yumiko crossed the room back to his side and grabbed his hand, though her head stayed lowered. "You gave up hope before the end. Before I could even see you. And.... if they condemned you, I would have freed you."
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Jul 14, 2015 14:54:11 GMT -6
"How would you have managed that?" questioned Vale. "Even if Juushiro had listened to you, I still would have been damned. Central has a nasty habit of being stubborn. And, you heard Shunsui. They want to strip me of what little I have left. I'm damned if I'm a good guy. Damned if I'm bad. I'll always lose with these people, Yumiko."
Vale kissed the top of her head. "I don't want you come with me to Las Noches in hopes that you turn. I just want you with me, Rose. I've got nothing else."
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on Jul 15, 2015 12:22:11 GMT -6
“I am with you,” Yumiko whispered in turn. She lifted her head. “But would they have given me your ring or taken your confession into account if you were already condemned? Would they have let you return to Karakura Town and let Kisuke watch you?” She lowered her head again. “It's easy to seem alone…. but neither of us are… if we look further than our pain and betrayal.”
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